September to December 2020 - Netarts, Teton Valley, Fair Oaks and Utah

Boy time has gotten away from us.  We have been in Mexico three months now and finally have some time to catch up the Blog from this fall.

We spent September in Netarts, Oregon where they have amazing sunsets like this one nearly every day.

While we were there we went into Portland to see some old friends and also visit the downtown where we admired the Black Lives Matter street art.

Facebook let us know the Coopers were nearby who served in the Adriatic North Mission with us and we enjoyed meeting up with them, safely, at a park in Tillamook.   It was good to hear they are enjoying spending some time in Oregon just like us.

While we were in Netarts we had a few hazy days due to the horrible forest fires that were happening in California and Oregon.  Even with the strong coastal breezed they managed to cause several days of smoking skies.  Fortunately, the skies were clear on September 6th when we celebrated Heather's 60th birthday by getting some mint chocolate chip ice cream and viewing some art galleries. 

We spent took several trips up the coast and were constantly amazed by the startling beauty of the Oregon Coast.

Merritt made an extra trip to Portland to play tennis with one of his tennis buddies and then go to lunch with Brooke Phillips (his niece) and Cyd Allen (his grand-nephew).  It's always fun to catch up with what the younger generation is up to. 

We were so impressed by the beauty of the coast that we spent quite a bit of time looking for a place to build a future home.  After weeks of investigation, we found a lot that overlooks Tenmile Lake just north of Coos Bay.   We started out looking for ocean view property but realized that the coastal wind would make it uncomfortable to sit on the balcony trying to play cards and enjoy the sunset. We actually never saw anyone on their ocean-facing balconies the whole time we were there.  Consequently, the lot we found is on the eastern side of a small ridge of hills 3 miles from the coast.  The lot is on the eastern slope and the view from the back of the home overlooks a lake to the east so the porch will be sheltered from the wind. We are looking forward to some amazing sunrises, some afternoon card playing, and some evening barbeques. As a bonus, there is also a very cool sailing club on the lake about 10 minutes drive from the lot, here is a photo from our visit.  Membership there will give us lake access plus access plus a boat slip and dry dock for a future sailboat. 

It looks like a great place for Merritt to continue his quest to become a decent sailor.   The club has some great amenities for kids, so we hope the grandkids will be able to visit during the summer and learn to love sailing as well. 

We found the building lot in September and completed the purchase in November.  Here's the view we plan to have in 2024 when we finally settle down.

We had a great time on the Oregon coast this summer and we can't say goodbye without one last fantastic photo of the Pacific Ocean and one last sunset.

On September 29th we packed up the Element and headed to Utah.  We are looking forward to some future dates where we will spend many more summers on the Oregon coast.

During the summer our youngest daughter Lochlan and her husband Jon decided to move from Hawaii and purchase a home in Ogden, Utah near his home in Huntsville.  We were able to some home projects with them.  Lochlan helped Merritt with so many home projects when she was growing up it was gratifying to now have the shoe on the other foot so to speak.  

Our second week in Utah Merritt went along with our son-in-law Evan and our three oldest granddaughters for a historical trip to Teton Valley where he got to show the girls the farm where he grew up and where his parents were born and his grandparents lived.  Merritt's two sisters, Holly and Brenda, and Brenda's grandson Cyd heard about the trip and joined us. Here we are in the hay barn Merritt's grandfather, Alfred Durtschi, built with his brother.  Our visit just happened to be on what would have been his 136th birthday.  When he built the barn I am sure he never thought so many of his grand and great-grandkids and great-great grandkids would still treasure this barn so much. 

Merritt's cousin Beth Moore, owns the barn and has a home where she can see it from her front porch.  She was a great host for our visit that day.

Next, we drove over to Tetonia and saw the Phillips farm that Merritt called home until he turned 8 and the family moved to Fair Oaks, California.  The old wooden granary that Merritt used to play in with his brother was still intact and the kids had some fun playing around inside.  It made for a pretty good jungle gym. 

When Merritt was in High School he returned to Idaho for three summers so he could earn money moving sprinkler pipe to save for his mission.  The last summer he went he actually worked for his older cousin who took over ownership of the farm when his family moved.   We managed to find a handline and Merritt unhooked a stick of pipe so the kids could see how heavy it was. 

Later we hiked to a pond on the farm through some tough brush so the kids, in the end, needed to be carried "like a sack of potatoes".   The kids have heard all kinds of stories about Merritt's youth on the farm so it was fun that they got to see some of it first hand.  It was very nice of Evan to plan this trip. 

A major highlight of the trip was introducing our granddaughters to Merritt's Aunt Marion who is an amazing artist and missionary.  She does marvelous paintings of the Teton Peaks and served 8 missions (we might be off by 1 or 2 on the count).   Her daughter Heidi served a mission in the Adriatic North Mission which is why we ended up going there.  

Next, we spent 3 wonderful days in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National parks which the girls loved.  We saw buffaloe and grizzly bears and too many elk to count.  Here is the crew near Yellowstone Falls. 

 

After we got back to Holliday we chilled with the kids watching family videos, took the girls to the park, went on a hike back up to Willow Lake where Merritt had camped with them back in June, took them to their basketball games,  gave them some tennis lessons.  It was a busy October. 

One of Merritt's priests from when he was Bishop in New Mexico had a wedding reception in Provo which we were invited to attend.  It was great to see him and also his parents whom Merritt home taught for several years, Glen and Linda Pickett.  One of the benefits of being in Utah is being able to connect with old friends. 

On one of our last days in Utah, we spent a relaxing afternoon in Park City checking out the galleries.  Lots of great art on exhibit. 

Once again we packed up the Element and headed off to Fair Oaks California. 

Once we arrived in Fair Oaks, Merritt was able to spend some time with his brother Milt riding bikes.

Milt is a great big brother and went with Merritt for three days to our lot near Coos Bay to clear a bramble of blackberry bushes and then meet with the HOA to get permission to build a two-story home on the lot.  It took them all day with machetes but they got it done so they could do some measurement which showed there was not enough room to build the one-story home the nearby neighbor preferred.   They even put up a 30-foot pole so the neighbor could confirm that a two-story home would not obstruct their view of the lake.   In the end, the HOA gave permission for the two-story home we are planning. Mission accomplished, big brothers are great to have!   Here is a link to a rather long and boring video showing the lot after clearing out the black berry bushes.   Video

A trip to Fair Oaks is not complete for Merritt without some paddleboarding on Lake Natoma, in the future he plans to do quite a bit of this on Tenmile Lake.  

Heather has a good friend in Hillsboro who made her several COVID masks.  She always goes out in style. 

After four weeks in Fair Oaks with Heather's dad we drove back up to Utah to watch the kids for a few days and also spend Thanksgiving with them.  Our youngest granddaughter Emma is a good eater. 

Merritt's sister Holly recently bought a home in Draper so it was fun to go to lunch with her at our favorite Utah restaurant.  Never a dull moment with Holly around. 

sWe had a free day so we went driving around neighborhoods in Salt Lake City and found the home that inspired the home we built in Corrales New Mexico.  It still has the same magic for us 35 years after we first saw it and started designing our first dream home.   We lost the turret but kept the two wings coming out to the street the steeply pitched roofs and the window configuration  

We really enjoy spending time with the granddaughters. They are so fun to be around, whether it is letting them put bows in our hair or being official Opa smoothie testers, or getting ready for a swim they are always having fun. 

You might notice that with Heather they tend to be a bit calmer. 

On our last night in Holliday Lochlan and Jon came down and we played games.  It was fun to spend some time with them both.

The next day we drove to Ogden and helped Lochlan and Jon by hanging some art and painting some walls.

On Dec 7th we said Goodbye to Jon and Lochlan and headed off for Mexico where we have been "so busy" that we haven't been able to update the blog for the past 90 days.  We are really enjoying our retirement and post-mission life.  We hope you are all doing well.